Centrica PLC has announced the commencement of a £200 million extension of its share repurchase program, to be completed by the end of February 2025. This extension follows the repurchase of approximately £1 billion of its ordinary shares since November 15, 2022, representing almost 14% of the company's issued share capital at that date. The company has entered into an irrevocable arrangement with Goldman Sachs International to conduct the share repurchases on its behalf and to make trading decisions independently. The purpose of the extension is to reduce the capital of the company.
The arrangement with Goldman Sachs International enables the purchase of ordinary shares for a period from 8 August 2024 up to and including 28 February 2025, with an aggregate maximum consideration for the purchase of ordinary shares under the extension set at £200 million. The company intends that any shares purchased will be cancelled, held in treasury, or used for the purposes of employee share schemes. The maximum number of ordinary shares which may be purchased by the company under the extension is 536,039,506, which is the maximum pursuant to the authority granted by shareholders at the company's 2024 Annual General Meeting.
The extension will be conducted within the parameters prescribed by the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014/EU, the Commission Delegated Regulation 2016/1052/EU, and in accordance with Chapter 9 of the UK Listing Rules. The company will make further announcements following any repurchase of shares, and there is no guarantee that the extension will be implemented in full or that any shares will be bought back by the company. For further information, investors and analysts can contact the company at [email protected], and media inquiries can be directed to [email protected].